Broken toys, dead radios and torn clothes can be fixed in repair week

Broken toys, dead radios, torn clothes and malfunctioning mechanical items are among the things people can bring along to Chesterfield’s Repair Cafe when it returns this month with an international flavour.

The scheme’s next session, on Saturday, October 14, as always run by Transition Chesterfield, ties in with International Repair Cafe Week (October 14-22), when similar events will take place around the world.

As well as mending all manner of stuff, the team of volunteer ‘fixperts’ will show people how to repair their own broken items, and all for free, with donations welcomed. The initiative has the added benefit of saving things from landfill and giving them an extended life.

The first Repair Café was organised in Amsterdam in 2009 when dozens of residents brought their broken stuff to be fixed. There are now more than 1,300 Repair Cafes in 33 countries, spread over six continents.

Margaret Hersee, coordinator of Chesterfield’s Repair Café said: “We throw away vast amounts of stuff. Much of this could get a new lease of life after a simple repair, but many people don’t know where to go or what’s the best option. If anyone has things that no longer work properly but can’t bear to throw them away, they can bring them along to our Repair Café and find out how to fix them for free, or at least establish that they are beyond repair.“

Ron Mihaly, Derbyshire County Councillor for Boythorpe and Brampton South, the area where the Repair Café is held said “In Derbyshire we throw away nearly quarter a million tonnes of household waste to landfill every year. We need to find ways to reduce the amount of stuff we send to landfill, which is a waste of valuable resources and contributes to climate change when it rots. Repair Cafes are a great service for residents and helps Derbyshire to reduce its landfill costs.”